Scottish gambling venues take part in first ever national
Responsible Gambling Week

Published:12:38Monday 09 October 2017

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Gambling venues in Scotland are taking part in the first ever Responsible Gambling Week.

This national, cross-industry awareness campaign will run from October 12 to 18, 2017, and will aim to get everyone talking about what it means to gamble responsibly.

Responsible Gambling Week, which is led by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG), will see every sector of the gambling industry in Great Britain taking part (arcades, bingo clubs, bookmakers, casinos and online).

In addition to 220 online gambling websites, 1,071 gambling venues in Scotland are participating in Responsible Gambling Week. In total, over 10,000 gambling venues and online sites and 121,000 employees across the country are set to take part in this biggest ever pan-industry social responsibility campaign.

The theme for this year’s campaign is simply, let’s talk about responsible gambling. All sectors of the gambling industry work constantly to promote responsible behaviour. By coming together with one voice, they want to reach more people and get people in Scotland talking about responsible gambling, understanding what tools are available to keep gambling safe and fun, and knowing where to find help and support for those who need it.

To get the message out as far and wide as possible, the venues in Scotland will be undertaking a range of activities through the week, including:

Displaying posters, leaflets, banners and other information points about Responsible Gambling Week in their venues, websites and on social media channels, encouraging conversations about gambling responsibly

Making sure staff at their venues and online sites continue to be points of contact for their customers on how to gamble responsibly

Across the country the campaign will also:

Work in partnership with the national specialist charities, GambleAware and GamCare, to raise awareness about responsible gambling through their websites and communication channels

Work with GamCare and its partners to establish dedicated information points around Great Britain that will be available to the general public throughout the week

Host online chatrooms and interactive Q&A sessions on social media through dedicated Twitter and Facebook accounts to help to encourage discussions about responsible gambling more broadly

Hold an event in Parliament to help brief politicians on what it means to gamble responsibly and what they can do to share the message with their constituents

“We’re pleased to see the industry coming together for Responsible Gambling Week to raise everyone’s awareness of responsible gambling. It is imperative that gambling operators meet their obligations and take every step to ensure gambling is safe.”

“Public engagement is one of the twelve priority actions identified in the National Responsible Gambling Strategy. We need to learn from the experience of consumers and their families, and to use this to make gambling safer. So I welcome the theme of IGRG’s Responsible Gambling Week “let’s talk about responsible gambling.”

“Let’s make sure we learn as much as we can from it.”

John Hagan, Chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, said:

“Social responsibility is fundamental to the gambling industry’s approach, and we are all dedicated, year-round, to promoting responsible gambling. But what makes this week so special is that the whole industry is coming together to support Responsible Gambling Week.

“We have operators across Great Britain and across all gambling activities, including in Scotland taking part. Their full support and involvement is essential to the success of Responsible Gambling Week. It is what will help us reach more people than ever before.”

To find out more about Responsible Gambling Week visit: www.ResponsibleGamblingWeek.co.uk, visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/RGWeek2017/ or follow on Twitter at @RGWeek2017